Why do clever people believe stupid things? It’s difficult to make sense of the world from the small atoms of experience that we each gather as we wander around it, and a new paper in the British Journal of Psychology this month shows how we can create illusions of causality, much like visual illusions, if we manipulate the cues and clues we present.
They go on to describe an experiment demonstrating the traps of cause and effect. It’s a pretty interesting read.
One series of studies has shown that if you manipulate someone to make them feel powerful (through memories of a situation in which they were powerful, for example), they imagine themselves to have even greater control over outcomes that are still purely determined by chance, which perhaps goes some way to explaining the hubris of the great and the good.
We know about optical illusions and the ways in which our eyes can be misled. It would be nice if we could also be wary of cognitive illusions that affect our reasoning apparatus, but like the “close door” buttons in a lift – which, it turns out, are often connected to nothing at all – these illusions are modern curios.
Barack Obama – The Curio President. By the way, I’ve often suspected those buttons didn’t really do anything.
– Marilyn
You did not outrage me. LOL Ask anyone that knows me, my “outrage” is reserved for bigger folks than you and I both.
Apology accepted anyway.
Been busy tonight, but I see I have been voted off the island while I was away. Looks like the score is about even since I have managed to outrage most of you one way or another this weekend. So let’s call a truce on the issue of animal cruelty. I’ll even apologize and say I overreacted to that first… Read more »
Hey, Lurker – if you can’t get rid of ’em, maybe you can just let them entertain you!
#120
An offer I can’t refuse!
(sticks head out of LurkCave, taking break from hunting vac bags) #100 Shannon, Ladybugs are “little darlings,” feral hogs are SWINE! Please do not insult the ladybugs. There is no comparison. Besides, if you insult them, I might box ’em up and send ’em to your house. Well, I’ll instruct them to find your house, since they would have better… Read more »
A Shandingo sighting!
Well, I declare.
It won’t be long and I’ll be making that Belleville car show, and I fully expect ol’ Shannon and Cbr to join me for breakfast, my treat.
Oh, just the “social conservative” part.
#177 What is untrue about it?
bob42 #76;
Why the freakin’ h*ll do you keep repeating that lie?
#68;
Which are true characteristics of being “unchristian”.
Prolly faked, but still funny.
Have a nice night y’all. I am going back to visiting with my Daughter. It is safe to come out now.
And real animal cruelty is not funny. Making jokes after a cartoon is.
In fact that is exactly what you said:
You inference is quite clear.
But you are self professed atheist. What do you care? And who was being cruel or even advocating cruelty to any animal.
Your righteous indignation makes me laugh. In fact it is funnier than putting a live bass in a blender.
109 Hammie
I love to crash the party….especially with a fancy front page posting.
I shore miss y’all evra day.
Glad to see Shannon poke his head up.
/reminded me of this
Good luck with that. No market. They’re giving ’em away.
Animal lover that I am, I cruelly refuse to walk Max The Pecan-Eating Beagle under the pecan trees anymore. This idiot noses around in the grass, takes one into his mouth, cracks it, spits it out and then licks out the pecan from the shell.
I just don’t have the patience anymore.
That cat carrier is cruel.
The way the end for its head is designed it’ll smoosh it’s face. 😉
#104 Shannon, if it’s any consolation, that list was not original. I heard it from my cat.
# 98
It’s so frustrating when bob is so damned funny.
Ahahhaahhahahahahhaahahh!
And just for SQK….
Save the feral cats!!!
Save the whales!! Save the virus!!! Save the coyotes!! Save the feral hogs!!!
#95 mharper42 Animal lover that I am, I usually wonder why someone felt compelled to kill the creature Hogs are one of the most destructive critters I’ve ever seen. They can take any size area of pasture you care to mention and turn it into one large mud pit quicker’n you can say “Oh, how cute!” And they can be… Read more »
mharper As a matter of fact, feral hog meat is quite tasty. My father-in-law would capture and cross breed them with domestic swine – some of the finest eating you could imagine. It’s open season on feral hogs year round in this state. I’ll be glad to show you damage done by feral hogs anytime you’d like to see it.… Read more »
I do not consider it a Christian virtue to be cruel to animals, that is what I said.
Christmas Carols for the Psychiatrically Challenged: MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER: We Three Kings Disoriented Are DEMENTIA: I Think I’ll Be Home For Christmas NARCISSISTIC: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing About Me MANIC: Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants and… Read more »
Feral pork meat makes great BACON and sausage.
BTW I need to make a sell. Wanna by a cat carrier?
I hear dead cats make great door stops too. I may start selling those too. Hey waht do you call a dead cat that has been run over more than several times? Frisbee.
#88 Shannon
Did you never hear of Hogzilla? Some details at this link:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hogzilla.asp
Animal lover that I am, I usually wonder why someone felt compelled to kill the creature. It’s not like anyone would seriously want to eat feral pork meat.
Appalled at what? I can find much more to get “appalled” over. Good grief.
Like I said “anything to get offended over”. I for one refuse to walk around on eggshells worrying about appalling or offending anyone.
And your little “Chrisitian” remark? What was that all about?
#84 Squawk
1) The issue was NOT the cartoon, I admitted that was clever. The issue was follow-up suggestions about using cats for target practise, etc.
2) I was NOT offended, I was appalled, by the comments. Is that worse?
Have no fear, Palinman is here!
I am so proud of my BSue. She has lost 24lbs.
The wife throws one of those entire packages of tortellini into the pot and my standard retort is, “So, what are YOU having tonight?”
IT’S BACON
This black lady came into my wife’s office swearing that someone had killed a bear in Buckhorn (right down the road from me) and they had it laying in the parking lot of the local “outdoors” store. My wife drove by later and saw the creature hanging from a forklift. Turns out it was a feral hog weighing in at… Read more »
Squawk
Or blonde jokes in overalls.
Handsome Son just returned from working on his car with his father. This morning at breakfast (and remember – Kelley’s portions are double the normal serving!) he had: pancakes, a plate of hash browns, a couple of eggs, and bacon. That was his ordered breakfast. He also took 1/4 of his cousin’s Belgian waffle, covered in jelly butter, and syrup.… Read more »
Bob42
HOWEVER Anyone says anything about Theo they will have me to deal with. Even tho your cat hates me.
Tedtam It just struck me that Aggie jokes are old Pollock jokes in drag. 😉 I am a coonass and have heard the same variations on the themes about us yet no one gets upset about it. I am not that self aware to get upset about it. Don’t want to. I will concede there are jokes that are not… Read more »
From the comments section:
Mohammad and Al’Lah walk into a mosque. You would think one of them would have seen it.
I don’t mind cat jokes. Although I suspect Tom’s family didn’t like that one.
Well, I here’s one website for Muslim humor. I have taken it upon myself to supply the world with more Muslim jokes. It goes without saying that Muslims are perhaps the least humorous folk on Earth; whereas Jews have learned to laugh at themselves, even turning that laughter into a business: Vaudeville. When I was growing up, my father never… Read more »
Wow. Just came on board and read the comments. Squawk, I’m with you. I’m an Aggie Catholic cat-and-dog-lover. One of my favorite bumper stickers is “Cats- The Other White Meat”. When I decided to go to A&M, I bought every Aggie joke book I could find (which came in handy when I wanted to shut my father up when he… Read more »
But Shannon I make a Speedo look good.
I find cinnamon flavored gum offensive. I mean, you could really burn someone’s mouth with that for Pete’s sake. How inconsiderate.
🙂
I’m offended by Squawk’s summer attire.
I think this would be a good time for a beer. Were the words of Franklin Roosevelt after he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, which was the beginning of the end of the very bad social conservative authoritarian idea of government prohibition of alcohol. When the law took effect, a team of Clydesdales delivered a case of beer to the white… Read more »